Q&A: Jamie Jo Hoang, Author of ‘My Mother, the Mermaid Chaser’

We chat with author Jamie Jo Hoang about My Mother, the Mermaid Chaser, which is a gripping companion piece to My Father, the Panda Killer and follows a teenage son who defies his sister’s wishes by searching for more information about their absent mother. Meanwhile, his mother’s poignant backstory reveals her struggle with grief and longing, culminating in her heart-wrenching decision to leave her children.

Hi, Jamie! Welcome back! How have the past two years been since we last spoke?

Hi, hi! Thank you so much for having me back. The past two years have been a whirlwind. Most of my life I’ve felt like an outsider, a poser, or a shadow. I expected being an author to feel the same. So when I attended conferences and book festivals as a panelist, I had no idea how welcoming the YA book community would be. Like, I’ll never forget this moment: I was at this big conference surrounded by authors I had long admired from afar and someone said, “Let’s take a group photo.” Just kind of on autopilot, I stepped away, and Ellen Oh—the Ellen Oh—said, “Jamie, what are you doing? Get in here.” It’s such a small thing, right? To be included. But I felt transformed in that moment because I realized I’d been confusing acceptance with sameness, and now I was being shown that acceptance is less like a mirror and more like an open doorway with a sign overhead that reads: Come as you are.

Your latest novel, My Mother, the Mermaid Chaser, is out September 23! If you could describe it in five words, what would they be?

Humorous. Haunting. Hard-hitting. Healing. Hopeful.

What can readers expect?

If My Father, the Panda Killer was trial by fire, My Mother, the Mermaid Chaser is a more of a guided riverboat ride with a few roaring rapids. As companion books, they can be read out of order, and the points of view are purposefully different. If some readers found Jane’s hardness difficult to relate to in My Father, the Panda Killer, they will likely appreciate Paul’s more laid-back demeanor. I think readers are going to find a lot of the book surprising because it veers away from the American narrative of Vietnamese poverty and submissiveness, highlighting instead our growth, resilience, and grit.

Where did the inspiration for My Mother, the Mermaid Chaser come from?

My mom, my grandmothers, my sisters. It’s really a tribute to womanhood and the challenges we face during and after war. When we read about war, women are so often not included, and yet we carry the burdens—both mentally and physically—of every bomb dropped and every bullet fired. I wanted to show our power and our resilience, but also how sometimes we falter in the face of so much tragedy. I believe showing a broader, more complicated truth, which includes both our survival and our challenges, honors the women who endured, while reminding the world that empathy should not depend on victims being perfect.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

The opening scenes between siblings in both Paul’s and Ngoc Lan’s stories. I love Paul’s memory of the family ride in the forest: The parents are arguing, while Jane distracts him with her hilariously botched version of “The Three Little Bears.” Even though the siblings irritate each other sometimes, the way Jane instinctively protects Paul is so primal; it mirrors the kind of bond I’m lucky to share with my own siblings. On the other side of the story, I loved writing the opening montage of Ngoc Lan, Chi Diem, and Anh Hoa biking to work, with Anh Hoa teasing them about a ghost tickling their stomachs. It was deeply satisfying to write because I rarely see joy depicted in Vietnam War stories, and for me, that moment captures not just joy but also the fierce love these siblings carry for one another.

Did you face any challenges while writing? How did you overcome them?

You mean besides the typical challenges of imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and the fear that every Vietnamese person who picks up these books will shun me for exposing subjects that are culturally taboo? Ha! Honestly, I’m not sure I’ll ever overcome those thoughts. What I’ve learned to do is to write through them, to carry those worries with me in the form of vulnerability and let them live in the work. It also helps that Vietnamese readers by and large have been extremely supportive of my work. And through the books, I’ve been able to connect with my community in ways I never could before.

For example, I used to be so ashamed of what I didn’t know about the Vietnam War. Take that famous photo of a soldier with his gun cocked at the temple of man kneeling on the ground in a tattered plaid shirt. For years, I assumed the soldier was a North Vietnamese “bad guy” murdering a South Vietnamese “good guy” civilian. The truth was the opposite: It’s a South Vietnamese soldier committing a war crime. Did I feel like an idiot when this was pointed out to me? Absolutely. But I gained something valuable: a desire to dig deeper. Without that experience I never would have written these books.

What do you hope readers take away from My Mother, the Mermaid Chaser?

Other than the strong and urgent belief that I’m their new favorite author and they must immediately go out and get all my other books?! Hehe. I’m deflecting because this is a tricky question for me. I never want to tell the reader what their takeaways should be. If I could make a request, though, it would be this: While you’re reading, if you come across something that doesn’t sit right and you find yourself judging the character for their actions, take a moment to ask why they think that way or made that choice. Look for ways to empathize with—not excuse—actions you disagree with.

Okay, I lied. I do have a takeaway hope. I hope readers broaden their vision of war to include the human impact. When we see scenes of battles and bombs, it’s easy to dissociate ourselves from them. Try not to do that; there is a real human toll to war that often gets overlooked. There’s a civilian impact that no one wants to acknowledge, and yet, when the fighting is done and the land is destroyed, it’s regular people who put it all back together. Learn about them, think about them, remember them.

What’s next for you?

In My Mother, the Mermaid Chaser and My Father, the Panda Killer, I spent a lot of time reflecting on the history that brought my family to America. In my next book, I’m focusing more on what it means to be Asian American and how, as a community, we’ve found ways to rebuild, rebrand, and redefine ourselves. I love that Vietnamese Americans have brought our coffee, our food, and our culture to the forefront of what we do, and I’m working on a story that reflects that shift. That said, can I promise you no tears? Absolutely not. =)

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?

• The most informative book I read this year: Viet Thanh Nguyen’s A Man of Two Faces
• The book I devoured the fastest: Jason Reynolds’s Ghost
• The book that reminded me of how connected we all are: Ellen Oh’s Finding Junie Kim
• The book that made me laugh the loudest: Huda Famy’s Huda F Cares?
• The book that reminded me of childhood: Pedro Martin’s Mexikid
• The book I’m reading next: Angeline Boulley’s Sisters in the Wind

Will you be picking up My Mother, the Mermaid Chaser? Tell  us in the comments below!